Page 24 - NAPFL FINAL

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Lack of documentation not only forces In Sabah, forced labour appears to
communities and workers into the persist in the plantation sector, which is
informal sector, but it also creates one of the largest contributors to Sabah
barriers in accessing various essential economy, despite important steps and
services, such as health and education some progress in its eradication through
all of which results in a multi-layered Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil
interconnected web of issues. Men, (RSPO), Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil
women, girls, and boys who lack proper (MSPO) and other initiatives. Plantations
documentation, including certain ethnic employ large number of migrant
groups like Orang Asli, are also often workers, including undocumented
from poor families with low levels of migrant workers, former refugees, and
education and they may not realise that inter-generationally stateless individuals
the relevance of birth certificates or from the Philippines and Indonesia.
other identity documents and lack of (Sabah shares a porous border with
documentation can become an these countries). Children born to
intergenerational issue. undocumented parents face constraints
accessing services such as health and
education. This may fuel child labour,
The background study also found including forced child labour and inter-
significant regional differences in the generational non-documentation can be
forced labour picture. The key groups of difficult for workers and employers to
concern in Peninsular Malaysia are address as consular services that are
migrant workers and refugees. needed in the process can be difficult to
Peninsular Malaysia by far hosts the obtain.
majority of documented migrant
workers in all primary sectors where
migrant workers are allowed by policy. In Sarawak, forced labour is also a
particular risk to undocumented
migrant workers, especially those using
the “back lanes” to cross the porous
In Peninsular Malaysia, where borders border from Indonesia. Most migrant
are relatively well controlled, it is likely workers in Sarawak are employed in
migrant
the
undocumented
that
plantations, but others also work on
National Action Plan on Forced Labour (2021-2025) or abscondment because of exploitation work. Undocumented individuals may
workers were previously documented
manufacturing, construction, services,
but due to non-renewal of work permits,
small scale agriculture and domestic
by the employers, or through passport
to
ethnic
belong
also,
however,
retention practices, have lost their
minorities who live in remote areas that
documented
status.
be
should
It
are relatively isolated.
highlighted also that some documented
and undocumented migrant workers
alike may have been subjected to
The survey did not measure the portion
charging of illegal recruitment fees in
of regular to irregular/undocumented
their home countries.
workers among the survey participants.
However, of the workers in situations of
forced labour, 51% indicated that the